As I’m writing this piece, I’m four hours away from catching a train to Chennai for what might be the last leg of my Sitana fieldwork, at least for now. Working with an almost unstudied species like Sitana has its downsides, but among the definite perks is all of the new natural history you learn and the little quirky behaviours you observe. Over at Anole Annals, I’ve blogged about some of the cool things I’ve noticed working with Sitana, and have collated my posts below:
General observations of Sitana, and an outline of some of my research with them.
How Sitana avoid surface heat in hot, sandy environments, and a possible convergence with Anolis onca.
Tail loss in a fight between two male Sitana ponticeriana.
An interaction between a female Sitana and some very sticky tree resin.
A bizarre display perch in Calotes versicolor, with implications for how anthropogenic habitat modification might affect social interactions.
I’m hoping the next month of fieldwork will yield more anecdotes about these entertaining lizards!
Ambika Kamath 